Residents suggest schemes to benefit community

COMMUNITY groups and residents have put forward their ideas for projects which will benefit Rudheath and Witton.

The ideas emerged from an evening on Monday at Rudheath Social Club organised by Rudheath and Witton Together Partnership, which is spearheading plans to regenerate the area.

The plans are the result of £1 million in Big Local funding from the Big Lottery, and the partnership has already awarded grants to five projects.

There is still £800,000 to be allocated over the next eight years, and local groups and organisations were invited to the club to hear from the groups awarded grants and to suggest new projects which would benefit the community.

Partnership board members will meet in the next few weeks to discuss feedback from the event.

“The aim of the evening was to raise the profile of the project among partners and local organisations, to promote what we’re doing and to let people know what the opportunities are for the future,” said project administrator Fiona Cowley.

“We invited a lot of the people we think we should be talking to in the local areas, because it’s their remit to work with residents and tenants - one of our objectives is to reach as broad a range of residents as we can.”

She said ideas which came out of the evening would hopefully be used to generate the next phase of delivery of the scheme.

“The evening was a first stage in the future planning process,” she said.

“We are also keen to hear directly from as many residents as possible, and hope to be out and about in the community over the coming months to hear people’s views.”